Iran already has nuclear capabilities but is not interested in attacking Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview published Wednesday in the Egyptian media.
Ahmadinejad arrived in Egypt on Tuesday on the first trip by an Iranian head of state since the 1979 revolution, underlining the thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state last year. The president's visit to Cairo is for an Islamic summit due to begin Wednesday.
The world must now relate to Iran as an atomic power, Ahmadinejad told Al-Ahram, as it is "already a nuclear state." He said that Tehran does not seek a military confrontation with Israel, and did not threaten to strike the "Zionist entity." In fact, Al-Ahram quoted him as saying, all of Iran's military capabilities are "defensive".
“We disagree with the occupation and discrimination and massacres against the people," he said. "Zionists are playing a special role in deceiving the world and they know what they are doing in the US and Europe. They are taking over the places of wealth, money, and politics in deceiving the world and strive to dominate all of these sectors through the destruction of cultures, economies, and wars.”
Ahmadinejad also expressed opposition to any interference in Syria, Mali or any other place. Meanwhile, the Saudi paper al-Madina reported that Ahmadinejad threatened to withdraw from a press conference on Tuesday over differences with al-Azhar sheikh Hassan al-Shafi, who is an advisor to the Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb. Tayyeb was appointed by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 2010.
In the interview, Ahmadinejad also complimented Egypt over its historical importance and called on all participants of the conference to come to an agreement on regional issues.
Regarding Egypt, he said that he saw a bright future and an opportunity for increased economic contacts between their countries.
Commenting on the French intervention in Mali, he called the French “colonialists,” who are only looking after “their own interests, not the people.”
"I have said previously that we can offer a big credit line to the Egyptian brothers, and many services," he said in the interview, adding that though his country's economy has been affected by sanctions, it has a “great economy” that was overcoming them.